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Cool season hay production concernsIts difficult to put a finger on why hay fields yielded better or worse this year than in the past. The factors are too numerous and not obvious. That said, soil fertility is a huge challenge producers are now facing. Fortunately, its simple to address--though maybe not inexpensively. An analysis of soil test results from the Kansas State University soil testing lab in 2008 indicated that phosphorous levels on our bromegrass stands were deficient 85 percent of the time. That's significant from the standpoint of a single nutrient, when if not applied, has a good chance of some production limitation over three-fourths of the time. What if you are making annual applications of phosphorous, or have been doing so for years, only skipping a couple as phosphorus costs have risen? A good point, though in some cases, enough phosphorus may not have been applied all along, leading to a continued degradation of phosphorus soil test levels ending in the challenges we're now seeing. Bromegrass and Fescue both remove approximately 12 pounds of phosphorous fertilizer per ton of yield. During a good hay year, producers may apply upwards of 80 pounds of nitrogen, resulting in a two and a half to three ton yield goal, the result is removal of 30 to 35 pounds per acre of phosphorous removal.
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